Lincoln:
Out of respect for the families who lost loved ones in our nation’s worst terrorist attack, if I were making the decision I would prefer that the Mosque be constructed a few blocks away from the World Trade Center site. However, the people of New York City didn’t ask for my opinion and I believe the local community, including family members of 9/11 victims and church leaders, should make that decision together.
As noted in the comments to Max’s post, as well as by anyone who is moderately informed about this issue, the building is “a few blocks from the World Trade Center site.” So … uh … I guess someone should tell the Senator so that she can change her statement to “nope, I’ve got no problem with it because that’s exactly where I would have preferred they put it, were I making the decision.”
Boozman:
Put simply, the construction of the Ground Zero mosque is an insensitive, aggressive political statement whose principle purpose is to irritate the public and stoke controversy. Instead of acknowledging this reality, the President bought the activists’ plea for religious expression hook-line-and-sinker and caved to the winds of political correctness in support of the building.
You gotta hand it to John Boozman — he can start from the same uninformed (or willfully ignorant) position as Senator Lincoln and still reach levels of stupidity and ridiculousness that the Senator could never hope to achieve. It’s not a mosque, it’s not at ground zero, and it’s not up to the President where the cultural center should or should not be built. The President was only stating his somewhat-confusing position on the issue. It was and remains up to the local powers-that-be, nearly all of whom (including residents of the area) are fine with it.